Acorn Purse Variation #2: Mardi Gras!
12/16/12 EDIT: I went to a guild sew-in yesterday and stitched up the bag from this fabric… scroll down to see it. Also added some tips for working with these crazy wide stitches. 
The Sewing and Wine Diet (SWD): Sew. Drink a little Wine. Stay Busy. Don’t Eat. The picture above doesn’t do the fabric justice. The colors are really yummy in real life: purples, goldens & greens. When one of my clients saw it this week, she said “Mardi Gras!”. She’s spent her fair share of times in New Orleans and the first thing she saw in this fabric was Mardi Gras. So “Mardi Gras!” it is.
Some of the stitches done on the Ellisimo Gold are super wide… the machine literally moves the fabric side to side while making the stitches as well as moving the fabric forward and back. It’s TRIPPY watching fabric move sideways – it’s gotta be an old-dogs-new-tricks thing! lol It can be difficult to keep the fabric moving in the right direction when doing these… so I’ve gotten two tips as far as guiding the fabric with those humongous wide stitches…
1. Keep your straight lines (edge of fabric, markings, etc) in a parallel line with the side of the foot as the fabric is dancing all over the place. (Nancy Zieman)
2. Set the machine to do only one repeat at a time… so you can make sure you’re headed in the right direction in between each repeat and adjust as necessary.
There was about 6 hours of SWD involved in putting those thousands of crazy stitches into a 15″ x 40″ piece of batik.
I really wanted to include zipper alterations in this next sample of the Acorn Bag, but that’s just not gonna happen with this one – it wouldn’t be pretty. Maybe I’ll put a little one in on the inside pocket on one side – just to add a little more class.
The goal is to get 4 samples of this bag done before getting the pattern churned through Adobe Illustrator and on to downloadable PDFs. I already have the next two variations in my head… And a possible 5th. Next up (in my head) is to make one with laminated cotton, another with selvage edges, and another with embroidery.
It sure would be nice if work didn’t get in the way every day… Lol… I would love to drop everything and just kick these patterns out in a week. ::::sigh:::::
Just took another pic…. The colors aren’t coming up (seems some of the purples look brown to me) … But the stitches are showing up better…
In the picture above, you can see two lines of green couching. The one on the right was done with metallic DMC thread (kind of expensive stuff… and the finished look is not really worth it, IMO … but the one on the left (which honestly looks better if you saw it in person) was done with Lion Brand Yarn BonBons from Joann.com .
Go take a quick look at that link (it will open in a separate window so you won’t lose your place here) … and see the yummy colors! Each package has 8 cute-as-they-could-possibly-be little skeins that are each about the size of two marshmallows! Look at the picture below, taken next to my sewing machine, so you get some perspective on how cute these are….
I bought two packages (I think they were the Party and Celebrate colorways). These are a super-economical way to get a stash of suitable threads/yarns for couching.
If you look carefully, you can see that these yarns do have a metallic thread running through them… so it does add a nice little touch of bling to your work. I’m going to buy all of the colors on my next order… at $1 a baby-skein (and even less if you take advantage of their coupons!) you can’t go wrong.
Here’s a pic of the threads that were used…
Aren’t those just yummy colors?!?!? And honestly… it’s easy to pick out colors if you just base your choices for a project like this by either following the lead of the fabric designer.. or pull out a color wheel and use color theory to imagine some colors you may not have otherwise thought of.
If doing this sort of work seems a bit intimidating, you might want to consider taking the Stupendous Stitching Class on Craftsy.
When I bought my first Elna in 1975, I took a similar class at the dealer’s place. There were feet back then (and still available now) that make adding cord to your embellishments easily.
In the Craftsy Class, Carol Waugh talks about a couching foot that is available for the Bernina… I used an adjustable braiding foot that came with my Ellisimo Gold:
….but also consider any foot that has a notched out bottom and some sort of guide on top to guide the cord/yarn/etc so you don’t have to handle it:
And here’s a link to Amazon for other couching feet. And you will want to also look at this link for cording feet on Amazon.
I’ll be adding more to this post as the project comes along…. stay tuned!
OK… so here’s more:
12/16/12: I went to a sew-in day with a local guild. Had a great time. What nice people!
Anyway, I worked on the bag… here it is:
Arrrgh… I’m a lousy photographer! I just came inside to try to get a decent pic of the lining… this is the best I could do….
I like the way the lining turned out on this one… and the pic above does show the detail pretty well. That’s cool.
Now about the exterior and showing the shape of these… Out to the backyard! Let me try again…
What the heck… here’s the backside:
What do you think?
If you have never played with all of the stitches on your machine, you should! It’s relaxing… it’s almost mindless… and look at how this turned out. I already had 3 friends that wanted it.
Did you go to Craftsy.com and check out Stupendous Stitching yet? Get over there and sign up for a class… have some fun!
Now… I’m on to the next incarnation of this bag ….
Toodles for now…
Rip
Your pocketbook looks wonderful. You did a great job. It makes me really want to go look at the ellisimo gold more. I tried it a few weeks about just before sandy hit our area and said I have decided what machine to get before christmas, soooo glad we did not get it that day, as a week later sandy came into our home and I lost 6 antique sewing machine that were sitting on the floor in my sewing room and in the closet. if we would have bought the ellisimo it may have still been in the box if I did not put it up high and I lost all my sewing threads that were in a container and in the garage and over 500 different sewing machine needles. we were getting the electric fixed for my new machine and the water came in the front door and all over the floors and in the garage a few feet and in the house. we are trying to rebuild but not having any fun yet, can’t sew or do anything, but sit here on the computer when taking a break, I can just dream, but love, love your new pocketbook. you did a wonderful job. I have never tried that, but will add that to my to do list. Judy
Awwww, Judy…..
So sorry you’re still regrouping after Sandy!
The EG is pretty wonderful… I’m enjoying it. Please post back here when you get yours… I’ll be cheering you on!
Sally, I love that bag you did. Great job. I am going to do a Stupendous Stitching Class in the new year. I have allready got the fabric. I am looking forward to trying out the stitches on my 7700. The bag you made looks to be a great size too. Any chance we could get the pattern for it. Maybe put it in the
hj7700-8900 club files. Cheers jo
Hi Sally ……… just wondering if you used any fusible interfacing on your Batik before doing your stitching initially?
THANKS !
Yes….
I bought a bolt of Pellon SF101 – Fusible stuff. (I believe that’s the stuff)
I used one layer of it attached to the batik before doing the embellishment stitching… and then another layer of it on the exterior panels, the lining panels, inside the strap, and also on the exterior pockets – one layer on the exterior of those as well as on the lining of those.
I use a heavier “craft fuse” (I think that’s what it’s called – also made by Pellon) for on one half of interior pocket – it’s firmer so the little pockets inside can’t slouch. Easier to get cell phones in and out of the finished pocket, IMO.
THANKS for responding so quickly Sally ……… I have a sample of SF-101 so your project will give me a reason to use it
When making purses I often use Soft and Stable by Annie – have you heard of it? It works wonderfully, gives a nice shape to the bag so it doesn’t *slouch* – lets it keep its shape with out being stiff .
Soft and Stable works well when doing machine embroidery for wall hangings, door decor etc.